Us/Them
In September 2004, a group of terrorists stormed School Number One in Beslan, Russia, taking hundreds of children, their parents and teachers hostage. The ensuing siege lasted three days and left many dead.
Us/Them is not a straightforward account of this terrible tragedy, but an exploration of the entirely individual way children cope with traumatic situations.
Originally created for BRONKS, a theatre company for young audiences, Us/Them had a sell-out run at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2016, winning a Scotsman Fringe First Award, and transferred to the National Theatre, London, in 2017. It was co-produced by BRONKS and Richard Jordan Productions, with Theatre Royal Plymouth and Big in Belgium, in association with Summerhall.
Carly Wijs has written and created plays, and has performed as a film and theatre actress with Wim Vandekeybus/Ultima Vez, Guy Cassiers, Josse De Pauw, De Roovers, KOPERGIETERY, Muziektheater Transparant et al. Her productions have toured internationally. She is regularly invited to be a guest lecturer at the RITS and P.A.R.T.S. (both in Brussels). Her first novel, The Doubtexperiment, was published in May 2016 and nominated for the Flemish debut prize, The Bronze Owl. Her play Us/Them won her an Fringe First at the 2016 Edinburgh Festival Fringe and transferred to the National Theatre, London, in 2017.